Epwin, the building products supplier, has reported a decrease in revenue for the first half of 2024 and anticipates that demand will "remain subdued" for the rest of the year. The AIM-listed company posted £158m in revenue for the six months, marking a 12 per cent drop from £180m during the same period in 2023.
Epwin's pretax profit was £8m, up slightly from £7.9m a year earlier, while its underlying operating margin expanded by one percentage point to 7.6 per cent. The firm's shares fell 6.1 per cent in early trading on Wednesday, as reported by .
The 海角视频's building suppliers have faced challenges due to reduced housebuilding activity over the past few years, as higher borrowing costs have impacted demand for new homes. Epwin predicts that demand will "remain subdued" throughout 2024 and noted that "most housebuilders are expecting the number of completions to fall again in 2024".
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However, the company stated: "However, the group's broad product range, diverse customer base, well-invested operations, flexible cost base, longstanding supplier relationships and strong balance sheet provide a large measure of resilience,".
Potential buyers could see improved affordability of homes due to falling interest and mortgage rates, which could give the housing market a boost. "Trading in the first half was consistent with the board's expectations, with underlying profit in line with a strong 2023 comparative, despite challenging markets," said Jon Bednall, Epwin's chief executive, on Wednesday.
"We retain a positive view of our future prospects and believe a market recovery is now more likely during 2025. Looking further ahead, the medium and longterm drivers for the group's products continue to be positive, whilst our strong balance sheet will enable us to continue to invest for growth both organically and by selective acquisitions."
The firm remains upbeat about delivering an underlying operating profit for 2024 in line with market expectations. The consensus estimate compiled by company analysts foresees an operating profit between £25.6m and £26.1m.
Epwin has declared a year-on-year increase of five per cent in its interim dividend, at 2.1p per share.
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Additionally, Epwin is expanding its stock buyback programme by committing to repurchase an additional 5m shares starting Wednesday.
Reflecting on the decisive move, Epwin expressed that "the fact that our strong cash generation and balance sheet provide the opportunity to take advantage of market conditions to repurchase shares at attractive levels and return additional funds to shareholders".